Google AdWords Campaigns – Get Your Digital House In Order Part 2

In this ever-changing digital age, InterMedia advises clients that the most effective campaigns are often those which have strong digital strategies in place before going big with broadcast. The synergy between the two creates stronger results than either one individually, because prospective customers feel like they are seeing the company’s name everywhere they look. This post will highlight the use of AdWords campaigns, and their use in building your digital strategy.

The Growth of AdWords Campaigns

Google is on track to make an astounding $70 billion in revenue in 2016, with a stock price that hovers in the $700 range. The company has become so top-of-mind that its name has changed from a noun to a verb, which gives them tremendous sway with users searching for online answers. Smart marketers sat up and took notice of this success and Pay-Per-Click, or PPC, was born. The lion’s share of Google’s revenue is now generated by their advertising solutions, or AdWords, which is good news for advertisers.

How AdWords Work

Remember the last time you searched for something on Google and saw those results at the top that had the word “Ad” in front of them? You might have wondered how that company got such a prominent result, but the answer is simple—Adwords. According to Google itself, the unique advantages of placing AdWords campaigns are pretty simple: “Be seen by customers at the very moment that they are searching on Google for the products and/or services you offer. And only pay when they click to visit your website or call.”

When using AdWords, keyword selection is the foundation upon which successful pay-per-click campaigns are built. The most effective keywords can command surprisingly high costs per click, but many marketers are willing to pay this money because of the high click-through rates. In fact, the most expensive 100 Google AdWords keywords in the U.S. include such eye catchers as best mesothelioma lawyer, truck accident lawyer, business phone service providers, and addiction rehabilitation centers.

Best AdWords Strategies

Google has many different ways of using AdWords to achieve online marketing success, but here are some tips you’ll need to keep in mind when developing a strategy of your own:

Research: Carefully review the campaign options offered by Google to find the strategy that is best for your business.

Budget: Set a reasonable budget that will allow you to bid on top-drawing keywords, but make sure your results can still generate a solid ROI.

Keywords: What terms do consumers use when searching for your product or service? If you derive customers from a specific geographic area, be sure to include it. Google will even help you determine appropriate keywords with their tool here: About Keyword Planner

End goal: If you want the searcher to make a phone call, have a call center ready. If the goal is to drive traffic to your website, make sure you have an effective landing page or you’ll lose them in mere seconds.

Testing: Be prepared to test several AdWords variations to find the one that works best for your specific business.

Start Small: Don’t go all in right at the start. Select a specific product or service and focus on that until you learn how to best utilize AdWords.

Analyze: You must be prepared to track conversions in order to match revenue with marketing strategy.

Pay Attention to Campaign Basics

The key to any successful campaign is simplicity and focus. As you progress over time, you can refine your approach, eliminate what does not work, and amplify what is working. Use your time wisely by focusing on these five optimization efforts:

Search Query Mining: Pay close attention to placements and search queries, and be aggressive with negatives.

Landing Page Design: Creating a strong landing page will actually effect your Quality score which will help lower you costs. Learn more here.

Bid Management: Monitor your bids to be sure you’re spending your money in the right places.

Think About How Your Campaign May Grow

When you’re increasing budget and trying to target a wider variety of terms, how will your account’s structure and process need to change to help achieve scale? Think about scale very early during your campaign’s genesis. If you’re starting small and focusing on a specific region, you may be best suited to start thinking about a geographically driven account structure from the start.

By focusing on fundamentals and thinking proactively about how your campaign might best scale, you will be able to succeed with your campaign from the outset. And with the addition of various tools, settings, and features within Adwords, you’ll be layering additional efficiency on top of an already profitable campaign.

Traditional and Digital Campaigns Work Best Together

A marketing plan needs to encompass the entire customer journey – from awareness all the way through purchase and continue to customer appreciation, referral and repeat—but digital and traditional campaigns must go hand in hand for maximum impact. Working with separate firms for digital and broadcast can create confusion if they are not on the same page for goals, key performance indicators and execution.

InterMedia can either guide your business along the path of creating a successful digital marketing plan, or create and execute it on your behalf. We have digital capabilities that can complement our dominant offering of DRTV media planning and buying to increase your company’s ROI. Call 818-577-1510 or send an email to ncavarra@intermedia-advertising.com for further information on integrating direct response and AdWords campaigns.